The Latest War to End All Wars
by I-Heart-MASH
Summary: Capt. Alexandra Richardson, and MASH 4077th. Chapter Seven is up! PLEASE review!
1. Chapter 1

**The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter One**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

**Request:** I am new to fan fiction writing and would really appreciate some feedback...especially since I would like to know if anyone cares whether or not this story continues...constructive criticism is welcome, mean comments are not...Enjoy!

Stepping out of the dark office, Captain Alexandra Richardson blinked furiously as the bright sun hit her eyes. As she adjusted to the glare she began to search for the jeep that was to take her to the 4077th, her new home. The nerves in her stomach clenched as she remembered once again that she was no longer in the States. She felt horribly vulnerable, as the realization that she was now in the middle of a war hit her fully. She hadn't been naive enough to think that this would be a pleasant adventure, but the adjustment to everything new that surrounded her was proving to be difficult.

Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to compose herself as she saw a tall man walk towards her. He had blond/brown hair and was smiling down at her.

"Hi there." said the stranger. "Are you Captain Richardson?" Sticking out her hand, Alex firmly shook the man's hand and confirmed her identity.

"Who are you Sir?" she enquired.

"Capt. B.J. Hunnicut at your service ma'am. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Korea! Although I'm not sure welcome is the right word..."

"Thank you Captain." Alex interrupted, "But please, call me Alexandra, or Alex. I'm not a fan of titles."

"Great!" said Captain Hunnicut, "And that goes double for me. Just call me BJ or Beej. Now shall we head to the camp? Just climb into yonder sturdy jeep and we'll be on our merry way!" Alex piled her bags into the back, and sat next to BJ in the passenger seat. She liked him, and hoped that the others at the camp would be like this. With a rumble, the jeep started and they were bumping along.

As they drove, BJ filled her in a bit on camp life, and gave her a rundown of all the doctors and nurses who worked there. They all sounded friendly, and she hoped that they would be as nice in person as BJ made them sound. She asked him when he came to Korea.

"I was drafted 6 months ago." BJ said sorrowfully, "My first day here was not as nice as yours has been. At the time when I came, this road was being attacked by the North Koreans. I had been in Korea barely 4 hours and I saw a 12 year old die in front of me. I watched helplessly as this field was littered with bodies. Blood is something you fast become adjusted to here." Alex sat in horrified silence.

"Now don't get me wrong." He hurried on, "Everyone at MASH is wonderful and we all help each other out. Those people make the war bearable. But death is death, and when it's pointless it's worse. Not all of your life here will be awful, but the reason why you're here is not a pleasant one."

"I know." Alex nodded, "When my Dad heard I was drafted he told me all of his WW2 stories. I'm not naive Captain, but this is a lot to take in."

"I understand." BJ said, and gave her a gentle smile. Looking ahead again his face lit up in a grin. "We're here!" he cried, "Say hello to MASH. Best care anywhere!" The jeep stopped, and Alex stepped out.

Having glanced back at BJ, she failed to see that she was stepping almost on top of someone, and suddenly found herself face to face with another Captain. This one was taller than BJ, and he had graying hair with alert blue eyes. They twinkled down at her as he steadied her and said to BJ

"Nice delivery work Beej. She's all in one piece, and a nice piece it is too!"

Blushing, Alex stepped back, hitting against the jeep. The newcomer laughed. "Don't worry I'm not going to attack you. The name's Pierce. Hawkeye Pierce."

"Alexandra Richardson." she shyly replied. His look softened and he offered her his arm.

"Allow me to escort you to your tent." he said. Nodding and smiling up at him, Alex slipped her arm into his and they walked further into the camp, each carrying one of her bags.

"Welcome to the MASH resort and spa." Hawkeye proclaimed, "Your tent has been reserved for you from now until the end of the war." They stepped into a normal army tent and she saw a small cot set up with a few other simple pieces of furniture. It was very plain, and not very homey. Alex instinctively wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Please feel free to redecorate." Hawkeye quipped, not missing her grimace, "And if you need any ideas I would be more than happy to give you some. All you have to do is go to dinner with me tonight."

Alex was well aware of his arm, which had left its spot holding hers and was snaking around her waist. _Oh no_, she thought_, a charmer_. She had to admit, he was stunningly handsome and his sense of humour was great, but BJ had mentioned that while Pierce meant no harm, he did like the ladies. Alex thought she should steer clear of him for a bit.

"I bet you say that to all the new girls." she remarked slyly, and chuckled inwardly when his arm dropped from her waist. "Thank you for the offer Captain Pierce but I feel that I should take today to settle in alone." Smiling at him so he wouldn't be too hurt, she escorted him to the door.

"Well don't hesitate to ask." he said, "My offer holds as long as you want it to. Oh and one last thing. Call me Hawkeye."

Having got rid of the distraction of Captain Pierce, Alex set about unpacking. It wasn't overly exciting. Most of her nice clothes had been left in the States, she knew she'd just be in army fatigues over here. Most of her time was spent dealing with the little object she'd brought to make herself feel at home. Her favourite books were soon lined up on the desk in the corner, the nightstand next to her bed had pictures of her family, and her scrapbooks with pictures of home were tucked into a drawer.

Alex looked up sharply when a knock came on her tent door. Straightening her uniform she went over and opened it. A woman about her height, with light blond hair and an authoritative air stood there.

"Good afternoon Captain. I'm Major Margaret Houlihan. I understand you are a new surgeon." Alex smiled and stuck out her hand as she had with BJ.

"Yes that's right. Pleased to meet you Major. You're the first woman I've met on camp so far! Won't you come in?" Major Houlihan frowned. "You should've reported to Colonel Potter upon your arrival." Alex's grin dropped.

"I'm sorry Major I was taking some time to settle in. This is all very new for me."

"Nevertheless, come with me now and we'll check in with the Colonel."

Stepping out of her tent, Alex frowned at the retreating Major. This was not a good way to start. Suddenly she noticed Hawkeye watching her bemusedly as he walked toward the mess tent. Meeting his glance, she rolled her eyes in the direction of Houlihan before following her to the Colonel's tent. Hawkeye choked in a laugh, and ducked into the mess tent.

Walking into the Colonel's tent, Alex saw a young man sitting at the phone. He was the youngest looking man she'd seen in the camp so far, and his voice was still a little squeaky as he spoke over the phone. She grinned at his cute little face. She'd have to meet him later.

Walking into the next room, she saluted the older man at the desk, and announced who she was. Before Major Houlihan could get a word out, the Colonel dismissed her. The Major frowned quickly, but thought better of protesting, turned sharply on her heel and headed out. The Colonel smiled at her.

"I assumed that since Major Houlihan brought you in that our first meeting might not get off to a good start if I let her talk. I'm Colonel Potter as I'm sure you know, and you must be Captain Richardson." Alex grinned.

"That's right sir. Thank you sir, for listening to me and not to the Major. I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot. I was taking some time to settle in before reporting and she didn't like that." Col. Potter sighed.

"The Major likes her rules, but she's not a bad person. Give her some time to warm up to you. She has a great respect for talent. Which I'm told you have plenty of! I must admit Captain I was a bit apprehensive when they told us we were getting a female surgeon. Even with your excellent credentials I'm still unsure. But I'm not one to judge by appearances. I'll wait to see you in action before I decide what I think of you. For now, why don't you head on to the mess tent where I'm sure they're serving whatever is being passed off as lunch today. You want to get some food into you before the next batch of wounded come in." Sighing with relief, Alex nodded her head profusely.

"Thank you sir. I'll see you around." She walked out briskly and headed toward the mess tent.

The mess tent was crowded. Soldiers and surgeons were everywhere. Joining the line waiting for food, Alex quickly got her portions and searched for a place to sit. Suddenly a waving arm caught her eye and she saw BJ waving her over. Grinning, she went and sat down with him.

"How're things?" BJ enquired.

"Not too bad. I met Major Houlihan, and Col. Potter. Col. Potter was really nice!"

"And the Major?" Alex looked down uncomfortably. BJ chuckled.

"It's alright Alex, most people get off to the wrong start with Major Hot-Lips Houlihan. She'll warm up to you." As Alex glanced up, she noticed Hawkeye standing in the line for food with a nurse, and they were looking pretty cosy. Her grin dropped away. Checking over his shoulder at what Alex was staring at, BJ smiled sympathetically.

"He just likes a good time. Wait till you see him in surgery though. It's a whole different side of him. Despite his love of women, and his fondness of alcohol, Hawkeye is an intense, passionate, considerate man, and he cares about his patients more than any of us. Every loss of a life is personal to him, and the only way he counteracts that deep caring is with his crazy behaviour. He jokes around a lot, and puts us all at ease. If it weren't for him we would probably all go crazy." Alex nodded thoughtfully. She liked the sounds of Hawkeye, but she really disliked how cosy he was with that nurse.

"Why don't you have lady friends?" Alex asked Beej, "You're certainly nice enough, and good looking enough."

"Well thanks, but I'm married."

"Does that actually stop anyone other than you?"

"Sadly, no."

"Is Hawkeye married?"

"No." Alex thought about this for a while when-

"Attention all personnel! We've got choppers coming in in 5 minutes, lets get moving folks the party's getting started!"

"Guess that's our call." BJ said. Hawkeye came striding over.

"You ready for this Alexandra?" he asked.

"Lets do this." Taking a deep breath, Alex followed the two men out of the mess tent into the camp.

Alex's body quivered with anticipation, nerves, and adrenaline as she scrubbed up, pulled on the clean, white surgical clothes, and followed Hawkeye and Beej into the Operating Room. It was cool and brightly lit, and it smelled faintly of cleanser. Taking another deep breath Alex stood next to a table that already had a body on it, prepped and ready to go. Alex hadn't seen the face, she had no idea who she was operating on. Steeling her resolve, she peered down at her work surface.

A bullet wound stared back at her, and she sighed with relief. She had a fairly easy first patient, she'd operated on bullet wounds before in the States. She worked quickly, and soon the bullet was removed and the patient stitched up. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice BJ keeping an eye on her in case she needed help. She didn't notice Col. Potter come in and share an approving glance with Hawkeye, and she didn't notice how hot the room was becoming. Straightening up from leaning over the body, she announced that she was finished and to bring in the next patient.

The patient was laid on the table as she got new gloves. This patient had shrapnel in their leg. Feeling more confident after tackling her first patient, Alex dove in and soon had finished her work with a skill and accuracy noticed by everyone in the room.

Soon she was once again announcing her completion. Before turning away to get gloves she glanced at the patient's face. She was startled to see how young he looked. He couldn't be more then 24. She shook her head sadly. The poor men forced into this. She felt a little queasy, thinking about how lucky the man was to be alive, but she shrugged it off, glad she had finished operating on him already. She made the mistake of looking at the face of the next patient she received.

He hadn't been anaesthetized yet, and with a shock Alex realized she was looking in the eyes of a young man no older than 17. He was obviously in pain and while his mouth was shaking as he tried not to scream, his eyes were pleading with her to help him, save him. With a desperate cry, wanting to end his pain, she ordered the nurse to put him under. In relief he relaxed and a gut wrenching cry came from him, followed by a weak plea for his mother. Alex choked in horror and sadness.

Moving over to look at his wound, she stared weakly at the mess of shrapnel in his stomach. She tried to get a grip but his cry kept echoing in her ears, and against her better judgement she thought of her own mother. She stood there over his body, breathing heavily, missing home, trying to get control of herself, but she couldn't hide how upset she was. Suddenly she heard a voice behind her.

"There, see? I told you women couldn't handle surgery! Look at her. She's balking under pressure. I warned you Colonel!"

Alex started blinking furiously, cursing under her breath. She didn't know who this guy was, but the last thing she needed was him on her case. She tried desperately to breathe and focus on the task at hand, but the irritating whine kept on in her ear.

"I never understood why the army approved her to come over here. Women are just not suited to surgery. Even back home I would never trust a female surgeon, much less here." Alex could feel herself start to panic. She was upset, crying softly, and couldn't remember anything with this jerk yelling at her. She was incredibly grateful when she heard BJ speak up.

"Lay off, Frank. In case you weren't watching her before, she's a better surgeon than you."

"Yeah Frank," Hawkeye piped up, "She's so good we'll probably end up giving her your patients after you've finished making them worse, and then she can give them a second chance at life."

"Oh nerts to you!"

"Ah such wit!" Hawkeye praised sarcastically.

"As clever as he is beautiful." BJ chimed.

While appreciative of the help, Alex was still in no condition to do surgery. She desperately wanted to get out and be alone. Noticing her distress, Col. Potter told her to go and take a minute outside. She fled quickly, her distraught mind barely registering Col. Potter's order to Hawkeye to follow her out.

Bursting into the sunlight outside the O.R. Alex finally let the sob escape her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the full horror of the war hit her. Wheeling around in anguish, she leaned against the wall of the O.R., her forehead resting on the cool building as she tried to calm her shuddering shoulders. The hand on her shoulder and the voice calling her name softly seemed very far away.

Turning, she looked up into Hawkeye's blue eyes, searching her face with a concern that touched her despite her upset state. Desperate for someone to make her feel safe again, she resisted the urge to fall into his arms, and instead sank down onto the bench near by. He came and sat beside her, and just listened to her sob for a while. Suddenly he spoke.

"I know it's awful. It doesn't make any sense does it?"

She shook her head desperately, how would sending young men to get shot solve anything? Gently, Hawkeye spoke again.

"I know how you feel. I've been there myself. The injustice of it all is enough to make you want to quit. But you can't. You can't change how many of them get hurt, but you can change how many of them will die from it. You're a brilliant surgeon, all of us could see it. You have the ability to save so many lives here." He paused.

"Without you, that boy will die. You have the ability of save him, and give him a chance at life again. You've just got to think of that. Every time you get someone so young or so beat up that you just want to throw in the towel, think of what throwing in the towel will mean to him, and any other boys you could operate on in the future."

Alex sat quietly. Her sobs had stopped, and she sat listening to Hawkeye's voice, feeling the human contact soothe her.

"Alexandra?" Hawkeye's voice broke in.

Looking up at him, Alex nodded, and slowly stood up. Her legs felt weak, and she must've swayed on the spot because Hawkeye's arm went around her waist. Her mind flashed back to his arm around her waist earlier in the day, but she knew this wasn't the same. He wasn't trying to flirt with her, he was genuinely concerned. And she was grateful for him helping her.  
"Thanks Hawkeye. I needed that. And thanks for your help with that other surgeon. I don't know how I would've dealt with him without you and Beej there."

"Ah, yes. Frank "Ferret-Face" Burns. You can see why he's not part of our welcoming committee. If I had my way, he wouldn't be a part of the war at all, but desperate times and all that. Frank gives everyone a hard time, which makes him not only a jerk, but a hypocrite seeing as he doesn't have the surgical skill he was born with. You'll get used to him. He's wonderful for practicing quick comebacks on." Alex smiled gently.

Glancing away, she noticed a young man heading towards them. She recognized him from when she'd walked into Col. Potter's office earlier. How long ago it seemed now.

"Um, Sir?" the young man said, "I just thought I'd come see how she is Sir. And I thought she'd like a glass of water. Sir." Hawkeye grinned.

"Radar O'Reilly, meet Alexandra Richardson."

"Pleased to meet you ma'am."

"Oh please, call me Alex. Everyone does. And thank you for the water, that was very nice of you. How'd you know I was out here?"

"We don't call him Radar for nothing." Hawkeye told her. Radar was shifting nervously back and forth. Alex wanted to set him at ease.

"Well you're obviously very special Radar. Thank you." At this he blushed, and quickly left, mentioning something about taking care of his rabbits. As he walked away, Alex downed the glass of water. Pausing for a deep breath, she became aware of the fact that Hawkeye was still holding her, and it was now making her uncomfortable. Extracting herself from his grip, she turned toward the doors of the O.R. again.

"I'd better head back in there. No time like the present to prove that there is room for women surgeons in this war."


	2. Chapter 2

The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter Two

Rosie's Bar was crowded and noisy when Alex walked in later that night. She was still feeling shaken from her experience in the O.R., but when BJ had suggested she come to Rosie's Bar to meet more of the personnel she couldn't refuse.

She stood awkwardly in the door for a minute, before she noticed BJ waving her over to a table in the corner. She grinned and headed over. Reaching the table she stopped abruptly when she saw Major Houlihan there. The Major was clearly not pleased to see her, but before she could do anything, Hawkeye had pulled her down into a chair. Deciding to make the best of the situation, Alex tried to smile warmly at her adversary.

"Nice to see you again, Major."

"I saw your incident in the O.R." Blinking, Alex felt her jaw drop. _So much for being nice_, she thought. Across the table from her, BJ groaned.

"Come on Margaret, don't start that up." But Alex wasn't going to let anyone else speak for her. Suddenly, she felt herself get infuriated by the Major's cold look.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't perform up to your ridiculous expectations within the first 12 hours of my arrival Major. I'm sure someone like you would be able to just jump into the war and stare into the faces of dying teenage boys and not give a damn, but I can't! And maybe you consider it your duty to intimidate all of the new personnel, but let me tell you, it didn't seem at all dutiful to me. It just seemed like someone bitchy and desperate for authority!" Fuming, Alex stood up and walked to the bar. Behind her she could hear stunned silence from the table, followed by loud laughter from the two men.

Standing at the end of the bar, Alex's ears perked up as she heard the soft tones of a piano. Looking over, she saw someone leaning over the piano keys. Feeling her anger drain away with the music, Alex walked over softly and stood next to the piano, listening. When the song finished, the player look up. She saw that it was a shy looking man.

"That was wonderful." Alex told him.

"Thank you, my daughter." He replied.

"Oh, are you the chaplain?" Alex enquired.

"One and the same. I'm Father Mulcahy. And you must be Alexandra Richardson." He extended his hand.

"Alex." She said, shaking his hand firmly.

"And what religion do you follow Alex?" Alex laughed at the bluntness of the question, but it was understandable considering his job. Pulling up a chair next to the piano, she sat down uncomfortably as she tried to phrase her answer delicately.

"I don't follow a religion, Father."

"An atheist?" He shifted uncomfortably. "Well then I guess my services won't be of much use to you."

"I'm afraid not. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Of course not. I pride myself on accepting people of all faiths." He smiled warmly at her. "How did you come upon atheism? If you don't mind me asking."

"My parents raised me as one. I've never believed in a Supreme Being, so the idea is completely foreign to me. I experimented a bit with religion when I was 14, but I couldn't give myself over to the idea completely. So an atheist I remained."

"I see. Well, perhaps you will still join us for service sometimes. It would be a nice way for you to meet more people."

"That's true Father, thank you." Alex whipped her head around when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Seeing it was BJ, she sighed with relief. "Thank goodness it's you. I thought you might be Major Houlihan."

"That's actually why I'm here. Let's go for a walk." Nodding, Alex stood up and they walked out of the tent.

Walking through the camp, Alex wondered when BJ was going to broach the topic of her rage at the Major. She didn't have to wait long; within minutes, BJ inhaled sharply and began to speak.

"As funny as it was, you can't yell at Margaret like that you know. She's stuffy at first, but if you get to know her, you'll see she really is a good person." He paused. "All three of us were shocked to see you get that mad, we-"

"I know Beej," Alex interrupted, "I have a very quick temper. It's a weakness of mine. When I get mad I speak before I think, and it gets me in trouble. My Dad warned me that I wouldn't get away with it in the army and that I'd have to watch myself. Clearly I took his advice." She grimaced, remembering what she'd said. "I guess I should apologize to her. Maybe then I can find some way to connect with her and make her realize I'm not a horrible person."

"No time like the present. Come on, it's getting dark anyway."

As they turned to head back in, they were startled by a cry in the dim light.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"Klinger it's only us!" BJ called. "Alex, meet Klinger."

"As well as I can in the dark." Alex joked. "Nice to meet you Klinger."

"Right back at you Alex. You may proceed."

Alex squinted at Klinger on her way by and then turned to BJ.

"Beej, was he in a dress?" BJ laughed.

"Klinger is trying his hardest to get a discharge with a section 8, which means he's trying to prove that he's insane. He's been trying for so long it's hard to know who the real Klinger is. I sometimes wonder if he even remembers."

"It must be difficult to want something that badly and never get it."

"I suppose." BJ agreed, as he opened the door to the bar for her.

The minute she stepped in, she was swooped up by Hawkeye, who pulled her to the centre of the room for a dance. Halfway through the dance, she noticed Major Houlihan leave the club and sighed, realizing she would have to put off apologizing until tomorrow. Soon, she was caught up in the fun of dancing. Hawkeye was surprisingly graceful on the dance floor, despite his tall frame. She also enjoyed dances with some of the other men, and even tried to entice Radar to dance with her, but he blushingly refused. When she made it back to her tent later, she was exhausted, but much more comfortable than she'd been hours earlier.

Alex woke up the next morning slightly disoriented. After a moment she remembered where she was, and everything she had experienced the previous day came flooding back. Frighteningly, she couldn't remember a lot of names. She'd always been bad with names, but she would feel like a fool trying to interact with people she couldn't address properly.

Shrugging off the problem for when she was outside the safety of her tent, Alex tossed the covers off her cot and walked the few feet across the room to her locker of clothes. She had observed yesterday that the dress code was pretty lax, for which she was grateful. Slipping into the olive drab pants and tan shirt she had a feeling she'd become very familiar with, she headed out into the bright sunshine and silently greeted the camp.

It was still pretty quiet. A slight chill still hung in the air, and she shivered lightly against it. The only movement came from the doctors and nurses changing shifts. Everyone was speaking in hushed tones and the idea that such peace existed in the middle of a war zone amazed Alex. Glancing around, she finally recognized the path to the mess tent, and headed towards it, hoping that breakfast would be ready.

The mess tent was as quiet as anywhere else in the camp. Only a few people were inside, most of them huddled in small groups, sipping coffee and muttering to each other. As Alex stood in the doorway observing, she felt someone come up behind her, and, turning, she came face to face with the short boy she'd tried to dance with last night. Her head hurt trying to remember his name, but he just shyly grinned at her and reminded her that he was Radar. Sighing with relief, she smiled back at him, and followed him into the line for food.

Soon, they were sitting at a table and Radar was telling her about his animals.

"Once a stray dog bit me and I had to get rabies shots. But for the most part the animals are great."

"What kind of animals do you have?"

"Gee, all kinds! I've got rabbits and gerbils, all kinds of animals. I have a mouse that Hawk and Trapper raced against the Marine's mouse. And once I saved a lamb from becoming pork chops, but I had to ship it away." Alex laughed at the idea of Radar shipping a lamb out of the camp. She was glad that the little guy had gotten over his shyness. He was launching into a story about one of the animals he'd found when the door of the mess tent swung open and Alex felt her mouth go dry as Major Houlihan walked in. She watched the Major get a cup of coffee and sit down at a table before she decided to make her move.

Excusing herself, she stood up and took her own cup of coffee over to the Major's table.

"Um, Major, could I speak with you?" she received a cold look in response, but Alex was determined to get through this time. Awkwardly, she sat down across from the Major.

"Listen, I really want to apologize to you for what I said last night. It was very disrespectful and you didn't really deserve it." More silence followed. Taking a deep breath, Alex swallowed her pride and continued talking.

"It's embarrassing to admit it, but my temper is one of my faults. I'm afraid you bore the brunt of it, very quickly. Yesterday was a long, intimidating day for me and my comments to you were a result of that. I'm sorry."

"Your apology is accepted Captain. Good day." Once again, Alex was left with her jaw dropped as the Major stood up and walked out of the mess tent. Biting her lip, Alex quickly followed her.

"Major! Yesterday when you first came to my tent I said that I was happy to meet another woman in the camp. I still am. Major please listen to me!" with an exasperated sigh, the Major came to an abrupt halt.

"Fine. Since you insist that you have something important to say, say it!"

"Major, you and I are in the unique position of being the two females in this camp with any form of authority. I'm the only female surgeon, and you're head nurse. Isn't there some way we can get along? I'd really appreciate having you as a friend. You've been the only female officer for so long. Does it not come as a relief to you that now there is someone else who will be experiencing the same things?"

"No, it isn't a relief. You come waltzing in here, fresh from the States and expect everyone to sit in the palm of your hand. Well they won't! It takes a commanding presence to have any authority here. And you are significantly lacking in "commanding" presence!" As the Major turned to walk away, Alex felt something click. Before she could help herself, she let out a hoot of laughter. It was the wrong thing to do. Instantly, the Major was facing her again, eyes wild with anger.

"What's so amusing Captain?"

"Major, you're jealous!"

"I beg your pardon? How dare you suggest such a thing. I have no reason to be jealous of you!"

"You think I'm going to take over your position. You're worried about losing the honour of being the only female officer. Now you have to share the spotlight and that bothers you. And what makes you even more nervous is the idea that you might lose some authority too." When her opponent went dangerously silent, Alex knew she had struck a nerve. She hurried on.

"Major, I'm no threat to you. Honest! Yes we now have to share the role of being female officers, but I don't want to steal any of your power. I'm not here to usurp you. It was never my intention to knock you off the pedestal of power you are so clearly on. All I want is to get along with you. I respect you so much for what you do in this unit, can we make that a mutual respect, and maybe friendship?" There was no response.

"I can't argue my case anymore. I've said my bit, the next part is up to you. Please, just think about it?" Turning quickly, Alex walked back to her tent.

Grabbing her robe and shower supplies, she headed off to the showers. As she passed by the swamp, she peered in at Hawk and BJ, passed out on their bunks. Shaking her head at them, she continued on her way.

After her shower, Alex decided to make her way to post-op and see how everyone was doing from yesterday. By this time the rest of the camp was awake and buzzing with activity, but post-op remained fairly quiet. Anyone who could eat was just receiving breakfast as Alex stepped in. Her eyes sought out the 17-year-old she'd worked on yesterday, Private Estman. She knew he wouldn't be eating after the mess of shrapnel she'd taken out of him. When she found him, she quickly strode to his bed, and realized he was still asleep.

His medical chart hung at the end of his bed and she picked it up. Her eyes scanned along it. The chart said he was 19 but his body said otherwise. He was clearly younger then he claimed. He was unmarried, and an only child. She shook her head. _His poor parents must be worried sick,_ she thought.

Further study of the chart showed that he was being discharged because of the wound. Alex sighed with relief. She wouldn't have to broach the subject of him being underage. As she looked up to study his face again, she found herself staring into his eyes. Startled, she recovered quickly and smiled down at him.

"How're you feeling Private?"

"Sore ma'am."

"Well that's understandable, you aren't in here because you scraped your knee." Her attempts at a joke were rewarded with a smile, and Alex pulled a stool up beside him. "Now soldier, I have to inform you that you've been discharged because of this injury."

"I get to go home?" The look on the boy's face broke Alex's heart.

"Yes. You'll see your mom sooner then you thought." Alex paused for a moment. "And lucky for you, the next time we have a war you won't need to lie about your age to enlist." Estman's big eyes stared back at her, and his face turned red as he realized she'd caught him. Patting his shoulder reassuringly, Alex smiled again.

"Take care of yourself Private. I'll check up on you later."

Alex finished checking up on the rest of her patients in post-op, occasionally giving instruction to the nurses. Generally things were smooth. She'd just decided to head to her tent and write a letter home when the P.A. crackled.

"Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded on the chopper pad. Both surgical shifts report to O.R.!" Sighing, Alex found she was quickly realizing that life got put on hold for wounded at a regular basis.

Soon she was in the tiny room outside the O.R. pulling on surgical gear once again. Hawkeye and BJ came in, followed closely by the surgeon who'd harassed her the previous day. Alex cursed her bad memory; she could only remember him as "Ferret-face."

"Well Captain, I certainly hope you've gotten a hold of yourself since yesterday's incident!" With a smirk, Frank turned and started pulling on a white shirt. Alex shook her head. This was getting old, fast.

"I'm sorry for my slip up Major. It's so hard to follow in the footsteps of someone like you." Sarcasm was about all Alex could manage, she wasn't used to finding quick retorts. Fortunately, Hawkeye was there to assist once more.

"Frank, how many times have I told you? You can't insult someone who's better then you. Which means you can't insult anyone."

"Which is just as well." BJ added, "Insults are about all that come out of your mouth, and I definitely would rather you be seen and not heard." Alex gasped. Frank's face turned bright red. But Hawkeye wasn't done.

"You're generous mon ami. I would eliminate the 'seen' part too."

"You two ninnies think you're so special! Well I happen to still be of the opinion that women can't be surgeons!"

"We know, Frank. Now can it before my hand slips in O.R. and accidentally sews your mouth shut!"

"Shut up Pierce!"

"I asked you first!" Hawkeye's hands were balling up into fists. A fight was brewing, and Alex quietly put her arm on Hawkeye's.

"Hawkeye, leave it alone. I'm all right. He's not shaking my confidence again. Thank you, but just let him go." Frank had taken the opportunity to giggle nervously and rush into O.R. Taking a deep breath, Hawkeye relaxed, and the three remaining surgeons finished scrubbing up.

Five hours later, Alex sat on a bench outside O.R. She'd been working non-stop, and BJ had told her to take a five-minute break. Sipping a cup of very strong coffee, she reflected on what the O.R. was like. BJ joked, Hawkeye sang, and Frank complained. Major Houlihan tried to run a tight ship, but often lost her temper at the two off-the-wall doctors. The nurses were wonderful. _They_ didn't seem to resent her. In fact, Nurse Able, who was working with Alex, had mentioned how inspiring it was to see a woman doctor in the camp. As Alex thought of this, she realized she'd better head back in.

The heat of the room, and the smell of blood and sweat in the air hit Alex like a wall. She paused in the door and gathered herself; she was not going to wimp out this time. Walking into the room once more, she called for new gloves, and stepped up to her patient.

Nurse Able handed her the x-rays, and Alex studied them carefully. She counted the fragments, and then counted again to be sure. Fifteen. Fifteen pieces of metal were scattered across the man's left shoulder. She'd have to cut through a lot of muscle to find it all, and she'd have to stitch it all back up again just right, or the man would lose the use of his shoulder. Tuning out Hawkeye's rendition of "Who Could Ask for Anything More?" she got started.

"Scalpel."

"Scalpel." Alex focussed herself, and dug in. She carefully lined the scalpel up with the pre-existing wound, and sliced further to give herself more space to work in. A mess of blood met her. She couldn't see a thing.

"Suction. We need to clear all that area up." Nurse Able was right on it, and soon the area was clean.

"Forceps." _All right you sucker, you're not going to keep bleeding on me _she thought, as she clamped off a small vein. With the bleeding contained, and the area clear, she could start her search.

"Probe." Carefully, and ever so slowly, Alex started gently seeking out the pieces of metal. Twenty minutes later, she'd retrieved them all.

"Give me some of that 4-0 silk. We'll have this guy out of here in no time now." With just as much care, but greater speed, Alex stitched up her patient. Grinning proudly, she announced her completion, and joined Hawkeye in a song.

Surgery lasted two more hours. Starving, Alex started to follow BJ and Hawkeye to the mess tent when she saw Frank hanging around outside Major Houlihan's tent. Hanging back, she saw him grab a hold of the Major's arm as she tried to head into her tent. She could see them struggle, but it wasn't until the Major started raising her voice that she realized Frank wasn't going to stop. Casually she walked over.

"Frank, I will say this one last time, let go of me or I will scream!"

"But Buttercup, I'm so lost without you! I need you to hold me! I need to hold you!"

"Frank, if I have to tell you one more time that I am engaged and off-limits I'll punch you."

"But-"

"Come on Frank lay off." Alex finally piped up.

"You little sneak! Get away from here!"

"Uh, no. Frank I think it's you who needs to get away from here. The Major does not appear to be enjoying your company." Frank let go of the Major's arm, but started to whine. "Frank, snivelling is never attractive, get out of my sight."

"How dare you speak to a superior that way! I'm telling Colonel Potter on you!"

"So long as you leave." With a final spiteful glance, Frank stomped away. Alex started to walk back to the mess tent; she didn't want to really talk to the Major again.

"See you around Major."

"Captain Richardson!" Alex stopped and slowly turned around.

"Yes, Major?" Alex watched as the blond woman swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Would you like to eat together in the mess tent? We could go over tomorrow's duty roster…and become better acquainted."

Gently, Alex smiled.

"I'd like that a lot."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter Three**

**Alright, so the chapters are going to get a little shorter now. I had written a lot of this story in advance which is why the chapters were so long, but now I'm out of pre-written stuff and am struggling to get nine pages typed and ready to go for each new chapter. So the chapters will be shorter, but hopefully just as good!**

**I'd love some more reviews. I've enabled the anonymous review feature so any comments, suggestions, etc you guys could give me would be appreciated. Thanks!**

_Dear Mom and Dad:_

_Today I was looking at the calendar you sent with me and I realized that it's been 2 months since I arrived at the 4077th! Two months since I've seen you. I miss you both so much. Dad, I can't wait for this war to end so we can swap stories. Mom, you have no idea how much I miss your cooking, and your advice. _

_Speaking of cooking, I'm writing this in the mess tent, home of the "ultimate mystery meat", and decade-old bread. I swear there must be something in the Geneva Convention about feeding us this stuff, but it's all we've got. You get used to it to an extent. Radar complains the least out of all of us. He just eats and eats. What a cute little guy._

_Remember last time I wrote, and I told you Radar had been promoted to Lieutenant? Well it didn't take long for that to die. Radar's so cute; he just hated not being one of the guys anymore. So he somehow got himself demoted. Anyway, after the excitement died down BJ told me that he and Hawkeye had arranged the whole thing! It was the payment they accepted from a guy who couldn't pay his IOU's from their weekly poker game. _

_Don't worry- I'm not gambling. I'll admit I watch, but I don't play. It's one of the few things I don't join in on. Most of what the guys do I can do too. We putt golf in the supply room, crack jokes in O.R., dance in the Officer's Club and Rosie's Bar, and enjoy homegrown martinis. Did I tell you that Hawkeye and Trapper (the surgeon here before BJ) built a still in The Swamp? It's always running, and you can pop in for a drink just about anytime._

_I guess I'm scaring you guys huh? Gambling, drinking. Dad, I know you at least have some idea of what war is like, can you help reassure Mom? I wish I could look into your eyes and tell you in person just what it's like over here, to help explain why we do this stuff. I guess I've settled into as much of a routine as is possible so maybe if I tell you what my life is like, our choices will make more sense._

_I take the morning shifts which means I'm up at five so that I'll have enough time to shower and eat before shift change. A shower usually consists of cold water and soap. Shampoo is a luxury, as is a razor (hints for Christmas!). I've already told you about mess food, so I won't get into that again. The only advantage of being up that early in the morning is that the food hasn't had a chance to get cold yet._

_Once I'm fed and showered I make the rounds of post-op. I check up on patients, make sure no one's getting any infections, that sort of stuff. It's also a time for boosting morale. I can joke with the men and try to lift their spirits. I'm not too good at it yet, but I try, and I am getting better._

_Once the post-op rounds are completed I have essentially nothing to do. I can read in my tent, or spend time with the others. I also spend some time scrap booking too. I know it sounds like I could never be bored considering who I work with, but being with the same people day after day, in a tiny compound, with nothing new does get boring. Tedious, dull, etc._

_On Sundays, the evening boredom is relieved by a movie. Other nights Col. Potter might have a lecture, but for the most part we sit and watch the patients. This is part of where the gambling and drinking comes in. We can get so, mind-numbingly bored._

_But then again, we can get onslaughts of wounded that make you want to go to sleep and never wake up. When we hear the announcement that choppers, or a bus, or an ambulance (or sometimes all of them) are coming, we have no idea how long we could be in surgery. It could be two simple hours, or marathon twelve hour runs. Your life literally becomes an assembly line of bloody men and boys. You want to shut your brain down and stop thinking about it, but if you stop thinking about it then you can't focus on the surgery and you lose the patients. I've been in the middle of cutting into a guy's leg, and stopped for ten seconds so a nurse can pull down my surgical mask and feed me a bite of food. Everything else goes on hold when the wounded arrive._

_So there's the other reason for the playing of cards and consuming of alcohol; we get so tired and stressed and frustrated and demoralized…drinking takes the edge off._

_At the end of it all, be it a boring day or an exhausting one, I'm back in my tent, which is very often too cold, and try to warm up enough to get to sleep._

_I marvel at BJ, who's been here eight months now. I have no idea how he wakes up in the morning and keeps going. He has a wife and a daughter at home and misses them terribly, and yet he goes on. He is such a comfort to me. We remain very close friends, and help each other out. He and I don't drink as much as some, but he does gamble with the others._

_Hawkeye is the resident alcoholic. I joke about it, but it is a problem. It's not healthy, as you both know, and it scares me. And yet, how can you blame him for becoming addicted to the one thing that can take him away from everything, even if only for a few hours. Of the three of us, he's been here the longest. He was drafted at the beginning of the war, a year and a half of living in this place. It's just his luck that he also happens to be compassionate and very sensitive. Some people seem to get thick skins from being here, but not Hawkeye._

_One of the thick skins is Major Houlihan. She comes from a military family and it shows. I know I wrote to you about her when I first got here. We're still a little on edge around each other, but we're getting by. She assisted me once in surgery and I was amazed by her skill as a nurse. I can tell she still feels protective of her status, but she's getting better. We've been able to talk a bit about her wedding plans; she's going to be married very soon. Talking over our dreams about husbands and families is a good way to bond. If you can break through the army side of her, she's really very decent._

_Speaking of dropping everything when the wounded come, I'm continuing this letter the next day. I'm surprised I even have the energy to lift a pen; we worked for seven hours last night, and then five hours this morning. Hawk and Beej are still sleeping. I'd be in the swamp now (it's nicer then being all alone in my bare tent) but Frank is there, also sleeping._

_I haven't said much about Frank in previous letters have I? Well, since my initial problem in surgery he's been backing off with the taunts. Partly because BJ and Hawkeye take good care of me, but also because I'm better at taking care of myself. And he knows I'm a better surgeon. I'm not being stuck up! I'm serious. Hawkeye said it best on my first day when he said that Frank is an example of desperate times calling for desperate measures. And not only is he a bad surgeon, he's also very "army" and whiney. Ugh…_

_I should stop complaining I suppose. I'm sure I'm not making you guys feel any happier about my time over here. My next letter will be a little more cheerful, I promise. Next time I'll focus on how wonderful everyone is. I'm so lucky to have Hawkeye, BJ and Colonel Potter (I'll talk about him more next time too). Let me know how everything's going at home!_

_I miss you both so so so so so much. Please write me the minute you get this. Heaps of love, hugs and kisses_

_Alex_

Alex sighed sadly as she put her pen down and looked over her letter. Being away from her family was the hardest thing about this whole experience. As she stood up she stretched and yawned loudly. She'd forced herself to stay up and finish the letter but she needed sleep desperately. Stumbling over to her cot, she fell onto it and was asleep before she could get under the covers.

Suddenly she jerked awake as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she rolled over and looked up into Hawkeye's blue eyes.

"Hawk? What are you doing here? What time is it?"

"It's about 1:30 AM. You up to coming outside Alexandra? I want to show you something."

_How can I say 'no' to those eyes?_ Alex thought. Slowly she sat up and with his help she was soon on her feet. Grabbing a jacket from her desk, she stepped out of her tent.

"What's this all-" she paused to yawn, "about?"

"Just follow me." Puzzled, Alex followed the doctor, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. When they got to the edge of the camp, she stopped.

"Hawk, should we leave the camp?"

"Come on, who's going to know. Besides, the further away from the lights we get, the better it is." Alex raised an eyebrow, but kept walking. They were following the road that curved through the hills. He strode ahead of her, intent on finding something. Determinedly she kept on behind him until they got to a field about 5 minutes away from the camp.

"Alright, now this is not a minefield so don't panic, just keep following me." With that, he headed out into the middle of the tall grass. Keeping her head down to watch her step, she followed behind. When they were in the middle of the field he stopped. Coming up behind her, he put his hands over her eyes.

"Hawkeye? Come on now what is all this about?"

"Tip your head back." Doing as he said, she had just tilted her head back when she felt his hands come off her eyes.

Above her, thousands of stars glittered on a black background. It was an exceptionally clear night, and the sky sparkled. Alex felt her eyes water; it was so beautiful.

"Oh my gosh! Hawk, this is incredible."

"I think so too. I used to watch the stars in Maine. I haven't been able to do it as much out here, but I'm always trying to find stargazing buds. I brought Beej out here one time, but he doesn't think it's too special. Trapper came with me a couple of times, and one time Radar tagged along, but no one's really liked it enough to come back over and over. You a star fan?"

"Oh yes. My family has a cabin in Canada. We used to go out there and I would spend hours on the deck just lying on my back watching the stars. For some reason, I never thought I'd see stars in Korea." She paused and drank it all in again. "Man, isn't it awe-inspiring?"

Hawkeye nodded. She could see the goofy grin on his face. They were side-by-side, shoulders touching. Suddenly a breeze swirled around them and Alex shivered. Before she knew it, his arm was around her shoulders, and he pulled her protectively towards him, her head on his chest. She stood there, listening to his heartbeat. A nice, warm feeling was coming over her. Her weariness came flooding back and before she knew it she had closed her eyes. Sometime later, she felt him brush her hair back and call her name softly.

"Alexandra? Come on, we've got to head back and I can't carry you."

Sighing, Alex roused her body, shook her head to clear it, and walked ahead of him back to the camp. When they reached the door of her tent, she turned and impulsively squeezed his arm.

"Thank you so much. Keep me in mind the next time you head out."

"Will do. Glad it was worth it. 'Night Alexandra."

"Goodnight Hawk."

As the door shut behind her, Alex turned on her light and saw her letter still sitting on the desk. Picking it up, she grabbed her pen and began to write again.

_P.S. Hey Dad, I have a favour to ask. Do you remember we used to star gaze at the cabin all the time? Could you send me my constellation chart, my astronomy books, and my little red flashlight? Hawkeye's shown me the perfect stargazing spot. You always said 'the best of friends are the ones who can share with each other.' Well he shared the spot; I'll share the tools. Thanks Dad! Alex_


	4. Chapter 4

The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter 4

Alex was alarmed to walk into the mess tent and find the entire senior staff arguing at one of the tables. Apparently the meeting was not going very well. Approaching the din, Alex tried to shout over the group. When her cries had no effect however, she resorted to stronger weapons.

"What in blazes was that!" yelled Col. Potter as everyone at the table froze. Removing her fingers from her lips, Alex grinned.

"A whistle Colonel. So sorry to disturb the tea party but you all were getting a little too excited!" In a flash, Hawkeye and BJ were on either side of her, each grabbing an elbow as they steered her to a spot between them and chattered in her ears. BJ started out.

"Now listen Alex. Frank here is suggesting- for the umpteenth time might I add- that callisthenics be made mandatory for all personnel." Before Alex could get a word in edgewise, Hawkeye interjected.

"My colleague and I are of the opinion however, that callisthenics would be much more effective if only the _female_ personnel were required to participate. Sort of a 'morale booster.' So what do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea Hawk."

"Thank you for your response BJ but I already knew that. You're the 'colleague' remember?"

"Whoops. Guess it was the thought of my morale improving that caused the memory loss."

"I'm right there with you." By this time, Alex- who still hadn't had a chance to talk- was seated firmly on the bench between the two men who were conversing animatedly to each other over her head. Alex was beginning to see why the argument had started. Frank and Margaret were clearly fuming, and Col. Potter was torn between being amused by the two surgeons and trying to keep the peace. The situation was getting tense again. Ignoring Frank and Margaret, Hawkeye kept talking.

"My heart rate would definitely be going faster watching a sight like that. Just because you'll be married doesn't mean you won't participate, right Margaret?"

"I wouldn't parade myself in front of you two if you were the last men on earth. And how dare you speak to me that way! Donald is ten times the man you are and he won't stand for this!"

"You know what else Beej? I think we should make clothing optional. For the participants and the viewers." Alex let out a loud laugh.

"Oh you two are disgusting!" Frank piped up. "Colonel they are destroying my idea! Are you going to sit there and let them put these disgusting thoughts out there!"

"Oh Burns where's your sense of humour?"

"Stateside with Mrs. Burns." Quipped Alex.

"Colonel if I may, some things actually need to be discussed that are more important then the adolescent fantasies of Pierce and Hunnicut."

"Very well Houlihan, get on with it."

"Thank you sir. Now, preparations for my wedding are well underway and I will be taking a week's leave for my honeymoon. In this time we will need to assign a new, temporary head nurse. This person will have to work with the nurses at all times and ensure they are doing their jobs. Said person will also have to look out for their safety and take care of any troubles they have."

"I volunteer!"

"Pierce this is not a joke! Colonel I request that Pierce leave, he's being a distraction."

"Never fear Margaret. Alexandra if I may borrow your hand?" Grabbing Alex's wrist, Hawkeye lifted her arm and held her hand in front of his mouth, smothering his speech. Alex giggled as he tried to talk from behind her hand; his lips were tickling her.

"I would suggest Capt. Richardson sir, provided you think you can spare her surgical skills. She's a Captain, and she's definitely the most knowledgeable of the women who will be remaining in camp."

"Why thank you Major. That's a big compliment coming from you."

"If Alex has no objections I'm willing to allow it. And if we desperately need her as a surgeon we can reassess the problem when we get to it." Margaret looked at Alex expectantly and Alex nodded. Margaret smiled.

"Then that's settled. Colonel, my business is done."

"Anything else that warrants discussion?" BJ raised his hand. "Yes Hunnicut?"

"Sir, I couldn't help but notice that in a few short days time it will be the 6 month anniversary of Alex's arrival at camp. Request permission for a celebration of some sort." Alex dropped her hand from Hawkeye's mouth and stared at BJ.

"I can't believe you remembered Beej!"

"I always remember my anniversaries." Alex smiled at him warmly.

"Well congratulations Alex. Yes BJ, permission granted to host some form of bash for the Captain. We'll all help out. Now if that's everything, the meeting is adjourned."

Everyone stood and headed outside into the bright sunlight. Alex walked back to her tent and was about to sit down and write home when she heard the P.A. telling her to report to the helicopter pad. Wounded were coming in.

Dashing back out, Alex started to run across the compound. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Hawkeye and Nurse Field coming out of the supply tent. Field's hair was mussed, and Hawkeye was struggling into his shirt. Anger welled up in her. The one thing she couldn't get used to with Hawkeye was the way he chased women. He could go from one to the other and have seemingly no attachment. He was always flirting and she still couldn't turn a blind eye to it. Shaking herself, she told herself to focus, and resumed her trek up to the pad.

Half an hour later, she was scrubbing up. She thought everyone else was already in O.R. so it came as a shock when Hawkeye walked through the doors and started to scrub up.

"Did you get stuck in triage?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Had to undo Frank's shoddy job. That man will never figure out how it works. And he's gotten worse lately. I think it's the stress of Margaret's engagement."

"He'd better get used to it. She's days away from marriage."

"Well he's not looking forward to losing her."

"I hope she'll be happy."

"When she's married?" He nodded. "Me too. You always hope marriage works. But if it doesn't, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Speaking of which, want to finally have dinner with me? It has been almost six months since I offered. I'm free tonight if you'd like."

"When I saw you with Nurse Field earlier I assumed you'd already had dinner today." Hawkeye stopped short.

"Now what does that mean?"

"Nothing." Alex silently cursed herself for mentioning it.

"Yes, I was with Nurse Field today in the supply tent, and you seem to have a pretty good idea of what was going on inside, but why should that bother you?"

"I just don't like that you can be with her one minute and then turn around and ask me to dinner."

"Look, it's just dinner, no strings attached!"

"Yeah everything is no strings attached with you isn't it?"

"What's going on here? One minute we're talking about dinner and the next your ripping into my lifestyle?"

"I just don't understand how you can do it. Go from nurse to nurse I mean. With no attachment, no cares. I don't get that."

"Allow me to try and explain it to you. I have my needs and they have theirs. We get together and help each other out. We both know what we're doing! Everyone in this camp knows I've dated just about every nurse on the compound. I'm sorry if you have issues with that."

"Whatever." With a last tug at her surgical gown, Alex entered O.R. with Hawkeye right behind her. Margaret came up to her.

"Alex you're going to start your nursing duties sooner than expected. We have a shortage of nurses and I need you to fill in. All the other surgeons have a nurse already so you might as well stick with Hawkeye." Alex felt her jaw drop and was grateful for the mask that hid most of her facial expressions. _Of all the times_ she thought. She was still mad. Margaret was staring at her, waiting for an answer. Swallowing her anger, Alex nodded.

"Yes Major, I can do that." She strode toward Hawkeye and the first patient, taking deep breaths along the way.

They worked in silence. She had to admit that, despite being angry, they were a good team. She often knew what to give him before he asked for it. But they never once made eye contact, never joked around like she was used to. They spoke to others, but never to each other. To her he was brisk, business-like and cold.

She knew she'd insulted him, her anger had risen up again and now she regretted it. What she couldn't understand was why she got so mad at the thought of him with all the other nurses, and why she was so hurt now that he was ignoring her. She had a lot of time to wonder as surgery dragged on and on.

12 hours later they all finally stumbled out into the night air. Alex's head was aching, and she didn't want to deal with anyone anymore. She decided to head to Rosie's bar and have a drink. She could think alone there. She was shocked to find no one else in the bar when she walked in. Ordering some sake, she sat down but glanced up as she saw Hawkeye come through the door. He stopped short when he saw her.

"Well you're not Nurse Field." His sarcasm cut into her. "Guess I'll just have to look elsewhere then."

"You son of a bitch." In two strides he was next to her, eyes flashing.

"Listen, I can have just as awful a temper as you. You want an argument, you've got it! I've been doing this since long before you came here. Don't think you can tell me what to do! I've been in this hell hole for two god awful years, maybe you don't agree with how I cope with being so far away from home to be honest I'm not asking for your approval! When you've been here for two years we'll see how you are!

"Stop yelling at me! My head hurts enough as it is. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but I can't stand around watching you flirt with every woman who passes through here anymore! It's disgusting. You're always acting like you're the greatest thing since sliced bread, and you think we should all fall at your feet! Well I hate to shock you, but not everyone is going to fall at your feet!"

"Now who's yelling? I told you already, everyone I get involved with knows what they're doing. I'm not hurting anyone with my actions. Except you apparently, and I can't believe you're making such a big deal out of this. Maybe you just need to be a man to get this."

"BJ and Colonel Potter don't need to flirt with everyone."

"Oh no no no! Don't you start comparing us!"

"Well you could try following their example!"

"Shut up Alex!"

Silence fell as Alex stood staring at him. _That's the first time he hasn't called me Alexandra. He never shortens my name. _Turning on her heel so he wouldn't see her cry, she fled Rosie's Bar and headed back to her tent. Once inside, she slammed the door and started to cry.

_What's going on?_ She thought. _Why am I so upset?_ Something was gnawing at her. _Oh my god. I think I'm jealous._

_I fell for Hawkeye. _

_Jesus…_

She closed her eyes and sat absorbing this fact, feeling herself start to cry harder as she thought about everything awful that had happened in the last 14 hours. When she heard a quiet knocking on the door, she looked up expectantly.

"Come in?" Alex felt herself start to sob again as BJ walked in. _How am I going to explain this?_ Fortunately, she didn't have to say anything. She just walked into his arms, and cried as he held her. Sometime later, when she'd quieted down, she felt him steer her toward her bed. Helping her in, he sat next to her and held her hand until she fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter 5**

**Thanks once more to all my reviewers! I truly appreciate your feedback and would love more! I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm super busy. I was wanting to wait until I had more before posting, but decided to add this just so you would know I was still writing. Once my schedule settles down, more will get added. Thanks again guys, enjoy!**

Alex rolled over with a groan as her eyes slowly opened. For a flash of an instant, her groggy mind thought it was just another morning. But just as fast she was closing her eyes again, wishing she could go to sleep and wake up back home in the States, or 36 hours earlier. Anything to keep her from needing to face what was outside of her tent. Before she knew it though, the inevitable call from the P.A. came, informing her that they had wounded entering the compound. Moaning in frustration, she threw on her robe and ran outside.

As she raced out, she barely noticed the bus that was speeding into the compound. It was almost on top of her when an arm reached out and pulled her out of harm's way. Without even looking at the face of her rescuer, she knew it was Hawkeye. His firm grip on her waist was unmistakable. Yet as suddenly as he had reached for her he was gone, not even waiting for the thank you that was on her lips. Wanting to cry in frustration, Alex instead ran towards the now parked bus and climbed in, eager to get on with the latest batch of wounded. The faster they were operated on, the faster she could return to the safety of her tent.

O.R. was brisk and efficient. The radio was on, playing a broadcast of a football game back in the States, so no one spoke much. Every nerve of Alex's body was silently screaming at the silence of the room. She was sure no one else was feeling the tension between her and Hawkeye, but it was weighing on her constantly. As she waited for her next patient, she watched him work.

His hands were so steady, so sure. His eyes, those piercing blue eyes that rarely missed anything were focussed intensely on the wound he was treating. His tall frame was hunched lightly over the operating table. Suddenly, all eyes snapped to the gas passer at the head of his table as the words everyone dreaded hearing were uttered.

"I'm not getting a pulse!"

All eyes were on Hawkeye as he started barking out orders. Seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly until he demanded a scalpel and a rib-spreader. His hand was soon buried in the man's chest, his fingers massaging and pumping the heart that was refusing to beat. The radio cheered in the background as one of the teams scored. Despite the bitter irony of it, no one moved to turn it off. They were all frozen.

The moments continued to drag.

No one spoke.

No one dared to breathe.

She didn't know how long they stood there before she heard Colonel Potter say,

"It's over son. Let him go."

Hawkeye kept furiously pumping for another few seconds, before slowly, regretfully, stopping. Everyone stood, dreamlike, and stared at the body they'd watch slowly die. Only the announcer's voice broke the silence, crackling out from the radio, but no one seemed to notice.

Hawkeye's shoulders were now completely hunched over. His eyes were screwed shut. Alex wanted to run over and put her arms around him, massage his shoulders, tell him he did his best. Instead, she stayed where she was, feeling the entire room stare at their chief surgeon in sympathy. Everyone knew how much he was hurting now.

Suddenly, with a jerk, Hawkeye snapped the sheet up over the corpse's head and yelled for a new patient. The game was over. Margaret shut the radio off; everyone turned back to his or her work.

**Sorry this one was a bit of a downer! As I said earlier, more will be added when my life calms down a bit. **


	6. Chapter 6

The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter Six 

**Alright guys, short chapters are the way it's going to be I think. I want to keep updating but in order to update at reasonable times then I will have to keep the chapters smaller. Hopefully everyone can be happy with that and I will keep trying to update as much as possible. Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: It occurs to me that I haven't done a lot of these, so just in case any of you were wondering, I don't own MASH, or anything to do with MASH. I own Alexandra and her subsequent adventures, that is all. **

Four days later, the entire camp stood outside, watching Margaret's helicopter leave. She was heading off for her honeymoon, beaming with happiness. Alex grinned back at her and waved enthusiastically. As soon as the helicopter was out of sight, she turned on her heel and walked ahead of the others back to her tent. Things had been unbearable since her fight with Hawkeye.

When she was in her tent, Alex faced her tiny locker/closet and wondered what she could possibly wear to her '6-Month Anniversary Party'. Apparently oblivious to the friction between his two best friends, BJ had continued to plan the party. It was in the officer's club and the whole camp had been invited.

Alex noted that it was actually incredible how clueless Beej was. Despite the fact that she and Hawk hadn't spoken in days, he seemed to think everything was fine. _I guess we're good actors_ Alex mused. Sighing in frustration for the umpteenth time, she reached into the locker and pulled out the one thing she could possibly wear.

It was the first time she'd really studied the dress since she came to Korea. It felt so weird to wear a dress here. There were pencil skirts as part of the dress uniform, but other than that she hadn't seen a woman in a dress in months. The one she held in her hands was sky blue with a full skirt and cap sleeves. It was simple as far as dresses went, but it would definitely stand out at the party. She had no make up, but she could do something with her hair. Alex slipped quickly into the dress. She was pulling her hair out of her face when she decided she wanted to leave it down. She put her hair up so much for surgery that leaving it down would be much nicer. Giving it a brush she glanced in her mirror and suddenly got a wave of self-consciousness. _How could I wear something this nice? I'll look so out of place._ She was just about to take the dress off when she heard a tapping at her door.

"Who is it?"

"Me."

Alex paled. Taking a steadying breath, she opened the door and met Hawkeye's gaze.

"What do you want?"

He was silent. She watched his eyeballs travel up and down her body, before settling on her face. He cleared his throat awkwardly and announced that BJ had sent him to pick her up. She nodded.

"I just have to change."

"Why?"

The question startled her; she hadn't expected him to comment.

"I feel self-conscious, this would be out of place. I'll just throw something else on."

"Alex-"

She paused, waiting for what he would say.

"Never mind. Do what makes you comfortable."

Alex stared at him for a moment, before shutting the door in his face and starting to change. A minute later she was outside next to him, back in her normal clothes. She'd even pulled her hair up. They walked side by side in silence, and she was glad it was just a short walk to the officer's club.

Upon walking in the door she was greeted by a wave of cheers. She stood in shock, glancing from face to smiling face, and felt herself grinning back. Beej had her by the arm in an instant, and was leading her to the bar. When he had her perched on a stool, he stood up on a chair next to her and addressed the crowd.

"Alright folks, the lady of the hour is here. I'm pleased to announce that it is six months to the day since Alex arrived at the 4077th." Cheers erupted again. BJ waited for them to subside before continuing.

"In her time here, Alex has become a valued surgeon and a terrific friend. So it is with great joy that I lead this toast to our female surgeon (and temporary head nurse) Alex! To Alex!"

The entire room toasted to her, and then the party began. Everyone was drinking and talking, eating and dancing. Alex was fawned over by BJ, who was like a personal servant, and when there was something he couldn't do for her, he got Hawkeye to do it. Hawkeye put up with it valiantly, and, though silent, was in all other ways perfectly hospitable.

Suddenly Father Mulchahy sat down at the piano bench and started to play. Within seconds, couples were on the floor.

"Hawk!"

"What is it Beej?"

"I want you to dance with Alex."

"Uh, is this another one of your orders? Why can't you do it?"

"Because I have two left feet. Come on Hawk, it's her party, dance with her."

"Alright, alright just relax will ya?"

Before Alex knew it she was in the middle of the crowded dance floor. She avoided Hawkeye's gaze, looking over his shoulder at the other dancers.

She could feel the warmth of his body through his thin army shirt, and every square millimetre of her skin that touched him felt like it was on fire. His one hand on the small of her back, the other hand holding hers, their bodies pressed together, and his cheek against the side of her head, right above her ear. It felt so good to be in his arms.

Too good. _I've got to get out of here_, Alex thought.

Stepping back, she forced a tiny smile in an attempt to thank Hawkeye for the dance, and then turned on her heel, heading out of the officer's club into the cool night air. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Suddenly a thought struck her, and she opened her eyes to look at the stars.

Hawkeye was in front of her. She gasped; he had been silent coming out of the building. His eyes were staring down at her with something that looked almost like concern. It was the first time in what seemed like forever that he'd looked at her like that.

"Alexandra?"

Alex bent her head down, unable to look into his eyes anymore.

"What's going on Alexandra?"

"It just got really hot in there."

"Because we happened to be dancing together?"

_Shit,_ she thought, _he's being sarcastic. Can I never have a serious conversation with him?_

"Yes because we were dancing. You're very hot blooded."

His face clouded over.

"Jeez don't start this again. What the hell is going on with you anyway? I still don't know what started that huge fight we had. Then I thought maybe tonight things would actually patch themselves up a bit and now you're angry again! Are you really still mad at me?"

"How's Nurse Field?"

Hawkeye let out a frustrated growl.

"Why are you so obsessed with this? It makes no sense to me. BJ doesn't lay into me like this!"

"He's a man."

"Yes and a happily married one! If anyone was going to try to push me towards fidelity I assumed it would be him! But this seems to have become your personal crusade, I want to know why damn it!"

"Just how blind are you Hawkeye? I find it hard to believe that a girl has never been jealous over you before!"

"I'm sorry, what? Jealous?"

"Yes." Alex felt her face go red. Hawkeye's eyes lost their fire as he stared down at her.

"What do you mean? We're just friends."

Eyes pricking with tears, Alex pushed past him and headed to her tent.

Dun Dun Dun! Hope this is satisfactory! Like I said, I will update again ASAP.


	7. Chapter 7

The Latest War to End All Wars- Chapter Seven

**Okay, so I lied again. If no one reads this I won't blame them. Sorry for this taking so impossibly long guys, I was busy and so I didn't write and then I lost the flow of the story and got huge writers block…oh the creative fires are temperamental. But "genius is burning" as they say in Little Women, and so I have updated. Review and let me know what you think. **

Alex got inside her tent and took a huge breath. Disbelief washed over her. _What have I done?_ A split second of panic gripped her, but almost before she registered what it was anger and frustration swept it away. Her tears started to spill down her cheeks. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

She spent an unknown amount of time pacing her tent, running her hands through her hair, sinking onto her cot only to jump up again, alternatively laughing and crying. Dozens of scenarios played out in her mind, ones where he admitted to loving her and proposing marriage on the spot, ones where he ended up hating her and demanded a transfer simply to get away.

At one point she thought he had come back, but it was only BJ, and she told him to go away without even opening the door. Suddenly her tent seemed too small, and in a burst of energy she shoved the door open and stormed out into the night. Without realizing it she walked out towards the field where Hawkeye had taken her to gaze at the stars all those weeks ago. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice anyone on the road until she'd slammed into them.

_Of course. I should've known he'd be here. _

They stood in the road, not looking at each other. Alex could feel the chill of the air settle on her now that she'd stopped moving. Seconds ticked by ever so slowly. Then, suddenly, without any warning, they crossed paths and kept walking away from each other. Alex started to shiver, but not just from the cold. Part of her was relieved that nothing had been said, and part of her was hurt by it.

"Why now?"

_Why did I say anything now? _She tried to keep walking, to ignore the question, almost refusing to believe that he'd broken the silence. But she felt her pace slow, and she stopped about a hundred feet away from him. When she turned around she was almost shocked by the intensity of his gaze. The starlight sparkled off his eyes.

"Does it matter?"

"How long have you felt this way then?"

"I don't know. It's been pretty gradual." _Why the hell am I saying this?_ She shivered again.

"Cold?"

"That's part of it."

"What else?"

"Fear, relief, anger, dismay."

"Right."

"Right?"

"You're confused. I understand."

"Don't act like some kind of sympathetic, benevolent being. You're the reason I'm feeling this way."

"Hey, don't get mad at me. You sprang this on me less then an hour ago."

"Well what's to think about? You either like me or you hate me."

"I-"

"On second thought, don't answer. I'm not sure I want to know."

She turned to walk away again, but his footsteps were following her.

"Now hold on, it isn't that easy! Let me remind you that you've never once indicated a desire to be more then friends. I've been my usual charming self; remember that dinner offer? You've ignored it all. I always thought you were just not interested. And I wasn't going to spend the rest of the war pining over you. So I got used to you being a friend. Well now I need to think about you as more than that again, and I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"You're a flirt. I didn't want to get hurt. I didn't even want to fall for you but that seems to have been out of my hands. And you kept sleeping around! There was no guarantee that you weren't going to consider _me_ a one-night stand!"

"Well it's not as if you ever asked me to try it!"

"Because what if you'd said no? Everything we had, our friendship, our working relationship, all of it would've been ruined."

"But we could've had something amazing."

"It was too big a risk."

"Is it still too big a risk?"

"It's already out there. The damage is done."

"Yeah."

They fell silent again. Alex suddenly felt very tired from the arguing, she just wanted to lie down in her tent and forget. Slowly, she walked over until she was standing in front of him.

"Listen, if I have to fight this hard, maybe it's not worth it. It shouldn't be this hard."

"Love isn't easy."

"Feeling it is. Keeping it strong is the hard part."

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm not having a very easy time right now."

"Mm hmm." She paused, "I think I just got my answer."

To her surprise, he let out a small growl of frustration.

"God, Alex, can you give me a chance here? I didn't say no!"

"But you're not saying yes!"

He stared at her for a second, eyes burning. Then, cupping her face almost possessively, he kissed her. It started out rough, and demanding, and she struggled. But then she felt herself start to respond, and the kiss softened. When they finally pulled apart, he kept his hands on either side of her face, and, foreheads touching, he whispered to her,

"I don't know where to go from here."

In response, Alex put her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. He moved his arms around her shoulders, and held her. She could hear his heart beat, and the warmth she had felt earlier when they danced came back.

They eventually pulled away, as if they almost couldn't believe what had happened. Then, very slowly, she put her hand in his, and, hand in hand, they walked back to the camp.

**Wow, that was quite the struggle, but I did it. I was trying very hard to not follow a predictable storyline, but when one is inside the story it can be hard to tell. Things are not going to magically be perfect for our two new lovebirds, but I'm also not sure where they are headed next. And having learned from experience, I'm not going to promise an update anytime soon. Sorry, I know I suck. But I would appreciate reviews of this chapter, as that will help me determine how happy people are with this (potentially obvious) turn of events. **


End file.
